Save Me
by ROCkER.JACkSON
Summary: Johnny O'Brien dedicates his life after death to protecting Elizabeth Webber. It wasn't too hard in the beginning, but soon enough things take a turn for the worst. After being shot by Jason many years ago, he can't risk being found alive. But what happens when he has no other choice but to return? Secrets will be brought to light that were long since hidden. -Johnny&Elizabeth-
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

_You can have anything you want if you will give up the belief that you can't have it._

_- Unknown_

For many years Johnny O'Brien has watched out for Elizabeth Webber, remaining in the shadows on the outskirts of her life, wanting nothing more than to keep her safe. To keep her family safe. Given that its Port Charles, danger was a constant impending factor in their lives and he had to protect them. To keep them safe.

Then she and Jason took a chance on each other and he had thought that would be it. That he wouldn't have to worry for them as long as Jason was there to protect them, but the man just couldn't seem to get it right. So, once again, he is left to protect her and her family. Something he'd gladly do at the risk of his own life, which is the case every day of his life.

One night in particular stood out from the rest. It was the day her son almost died in front of his eyes. He remembers how dark it had been that night. He had been sitting in his unmarked Sedan across the street, just keeping watch on her house, and then the front door opened wide. At first he thought it was her, that she had decided to take her boys out, but that wasn't the case.

He had be frozen for a nanosecond before his body jumped into action. Abandoning all care for his life and the possible end of it, he jumped out of the car and ran as fast as his legs could take him. He heard her scream her son's name, but he couldn't think of that. He just had to get to the little boy and save him from the impending hit and run.

If he had reacted a split second later, the little boy would be lost to death's hand, but thankfully he was just in time. He had been nicked in the process, but he didn't care. The boy was safe and that's all that mattered. After setting the boy safely on the lawn, he made his dash for safety. She couldn't know he was alive. As much as he wanted her to know, his life was still in danger and he couldn't bring that into her life.

He watched them from afar, seeing the relief spread over her face when she wrapped her arms around her son. Tears had been falling hard down her face as she realized just how close she came to losing her son. A part of him wanted to reach out to her, to assure her that she didn't have to worry about her son, that he had been watching after them, but he swallowed his admission and returned to his car.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Yeah?" he calls out, casting the memories away.

"How is she?" Francis, his best friend and partner, questions. "Still critical?"

"Hypothermia." he informs irritably, he had a bad feeling coursing through him the moment she stepped foot on that boat. "According to Robin, she's going to make it."

"Don't you think you're pushing it?" Francis questions with an arched eyebrow. "What happens when she remembers?"

"I've been keeping an eye on her." he states firmly. "She hasn't remembered anything."

"But she will." Francis points out. "Sooner or later the memory will come back to her...then what will you do?"

"I'll figure it out when it comes to that." Johnny concedes, standing up from behind the desk. "I should get back to the hospital."

"You're cutting it close." Francis says warningly. "Someone is bound to recognize you."

"Then they recognize me." he states through gritted teeth. "I have to keep her safe."

"Fine." Francis says firmly. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Dully noted." he looks at him intently. "Can I go now?"

"Go." Francis sighs, pulling open the door. "I have to go keep an eye on the boys. I don't trust them with Spencer for a second."

He drives to the hospital, anxious to see her again, to see for himself that she's okay - that she'll be okay. Parking in the garage, Johnny secures his jacket's hood over his head, slipping his dark shades on. He makes sure to take the service elevator, using the janitor's cart to get around the hospital without drawing attention to himself.

"I swear, Matt, I didn't save myself." he hears Elizabeth pleading for the doctor to believe her. "I saw him. I can't remember who it was, but there was someone there."

"You need to get some rest." the doctor says to placate her. "Just relax, Elizabeth. You'll be better than ever soon enough."

"You don't believe me." she accuses the doctor. "He was there. I know it."

"A mysterious half naked man coming from the water." the doctor looks at her skeptically. "A little too romance novel, don't you think?"

"I'm going to sleep now." she says, her voice slightly defeated. "You should go fix things with Maxie, if that's what you still want."

Ducking his head as the doctor walks out of the room, Johnny wishes he could walk in that room and tell her it was him, but he knows the risks and he couldn't take them. So, taking a deep breath, he walks into the room once he's sure she's asleep.

"I'm so sorry about all of this." he whispers, running his fingers through her hair. "I wish I could tell you it was me. That I've been here all along, but its not time."

He places a soft kiss on her forehead, his heart aching in his chest.

"Soon." he promises, fighting tears that would form. "I'll return to you soon. I promise."

With a heavy heart, he walks out of the room, taking the service elevator to leave the hospital. She'll be safe in the hospital. Forsaking the threat to his own life, Johnny had to find a way to come back to life for good. It was evident in the hardships that she has faced that she needs him. So he'll find a way to come back. A way to keep them safe while staying alive in the process. He had to. For her sake.

"How are they?" Johnny questions, closing the passenger side door of Francis's SUV.

"They're fine." Francis assures. "They're having dinner and will be in bed soon."

"I need your help." Johnny says reluctantly. "Just don't say you told me so."

"You want your life back." Francis says knowingly. "I know how you feel. In case you've forgotten, I'm not exactly on the most welcomed list in Port Charles either."

"So how do we change that?" Johnny questions, looking at him intently. "How do I get back to them?"

"I don't know yet." Francis looks at the Spencer house. "But we'll find a way. We have to. She needs us now more than ever."

"I know." he sighs, staring at the house that held half his heart in it. "Do you have any idea where we start?"

"I'm working on it." Francis promises. "Just keep up with what you're doing. We'll find our way back in, trust me."

"Okay." Johnny gets comfortable. "Wake me when you start to get tired."

"Will do." Francis says, settling in with his cup of coffee. "Get to sleep this time."

"No promises." Johnny chuckles before reclining his chair and closing his eyes, anxious for the day that he can return to his loved ones. Praying that its sooner than he can imagine.

**A/N: Let us know what you think.**

**All reviews welcome!**

**- ROCkER & Jackal's Vixen -**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

_Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall._

_- Confucius_

Discharged from the hospital, Elizabeth picks up her boys from Lucky's house. She never wanted her sons to go without her for even a moment. For them to have spent even a second worried for her has Elizabeth hating Lisa Niles even more - as if that were even possible.

She thanks Lucky for watching the boys and tells him to return to his search for self-discovery. She won't let another instance like this happen again. Not if she can help it. With Lucky's assurance that he would not be staying in Port Charles, she returns home with her boys, ready to return to her life with them.

"Mom, can we have pizza for dinner?" Cameron asks, looking to her for approval.

"Anything you want, sweetheart." Elizabeth says without hesitation. After what they've been through, pizza is the least she can give to them. "Jake, why don't you pick dessert?"

"Ice-cream!" Jake exclaims happily.

"He always picks ice-cream." Cameron counters. "Its not fair."

"Would you like Jake to pick dinner and you can choose the dessert?" Elizabeth asks her son, looking at him intently.

"No." Cameron sighs, sitting back against the chair. "I like ice-cream."

"Good." Elizabeth smiles, pulling into her driveway. "Pizza for dinner and ice-cream for dessert it is then."

She takes her boys into the house, making sure to lock the front door before she sets each of them up with their choice of entertainment. Cameron chooses to watch television while Jake sits off to the side with his motorcycles. All the while, Aiden sits in his playpen, banging on his medium sized xylophone. He loved that thing the way Jake loved his bikes and Cameron loved his trains.

With a smile on her face, she watches her boys for a moment, realizing how much like their fathers each of them were. None of their fathers ever played an active role in their lives yet they are turning out so much like them it was strange. Turning away from the captivating sight, she walks into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

Preheating the oven for the pizza, Elizabeth loads the dishwasher with the dishes she had been putting off for a week now. Once she's finished, she moves to set the table and put out the place mats, all the while feeling like she was forgetting something. Like there was something she should remember, but just couldn't grasp onto it long enough for it to stick.

"You're losing it." she mutters to herself, putting the pizza on baking tray and sliding it into the oven. "Get a grip, Liz."

Johnny takes position across the street in his unmarked Sedan while Francis is making sure Lucky Spencer boards his plane without delay. They even pulled a few strings with customs to get him through faster. The faster he gets on the plane, the faster he'll be out of their lives for good. A surprise to them both was when they found out that Spencer relinquished his parental rights to the youngest of Elizabeth's sons. The surprise on her face that day in the hospital was priceless.

"He got on the plane and its in the air." Francis informs him over the phone. "I'm going to keep track of it until it reaches Ireland and he gets off it."

"Okay." Johnny says, eyeing her house watchfully. "Everything on this end is calm. Nothing worth updating you on just yet."

"Keep in touch." Francis says before ending the call and working his way into the flight tower to watch the planes route.

Soon enough, the lights go out in the house, signalling the end of their day and the beginning of their peaceful slumbers. Settling into his seat, Johnny opens the containers, his stomach getting back at him for not remembering to eat every time he's hungry. While he's satisfying his hunger, Elizabeth is upstairs in bed - dreaming of the man that saved her life.

She can almost see his face. Its blurry and she's pleading with him not to leave her and for a moment she thinks he'll stay, but then he hears a noise and he dashes away. Her voice is strained, but she calls out to him regardless, begging him not to leave her. One thing she knows for sure is that she knows the mystery man. She felt it in her heart, she knew him somehow.

Out of nowhere she sits up, gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest. Putting her hand over her chest, Elizabeth tries to calm herself down. Reminding herself that she was safe in her home and not on the shores of Spoon Island.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Jason?" she says questioningly, pulling open the front door. "Is everything okay?"

"Y-Yeah." he says, shaking his head. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"It's a little early, don't you think?"

"Sorry." he says after checking his watch. "I wasn't really thinking about the time."

"Its okay." she says, knowing he was probably just getting off a work thing. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yeah...thanks." he walks past her into the house, a side glance at the stairs before sitting on the club chair. "I'm sorry about showing up this early..."

"You said that already." she points out after closing the door. "Is everything okay? You look...for lack of a better word...exhausted."

"I kind of am." he admits, running one hand down his face. "But I didn't come here for me...how're you doing?"

"I'm okay." she says, sitting on the couch. "I'm just happy to be back with the boys."

"I understand that." Jason smiles slightly, something in his eyes makes her a little worried for him.

"Would you like to see him?" Elizabeth asks, a part of her wishing he'd open up to her, but knowing that it wasn't her place to ask anymore. "He's fast asleep. You won't be bothering him if you do."

"I'd like that." Jason admits, rising from the chair. "I know I've said this before, but thank you. You're a great mother."

"Come on." she smiles slightly, gesturing for him to walk up the stairs. "I know you'll want to be gone before he wakes."

Jason walks up the stairs first with her following behind. She waits outside as he walks into the room and he's grateful for the time he has alone with his son. Kneeling down beside his son, Jason softly runs his fingers through his son's hair. He was looking more and more like him every day.

"I love you." he whispers, kissing Jake's forehead. "I'll always be around if you truly need me."

With that, Jason walks over to the door, taking one last look at his son before closing the door. He can see that she understands what these short brief moments mean to him. She always seemed to understand, even when he didn't want her to. Without a word, they walk back downstairs, making their way to the front door.

"Thank you." he says, like always has since Jake was almost hit by the car and he started coming over in the middle of the night to see him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too." Elizabeth smiles, holding back anything she wanted to ask. "If you need to talk...you know I'm here, right?"

"I know." Jason assures, pulling open the door. "See you later."

"Sure." Elizabeth says, watching him walk down the pathway to his car and leaving.

Johnny, on the other hand, watches the encounter from across the street. Every part of him wishing he could do that. Just show up at her place, hangout for a while, and be able to say that he'd see her again. In spite of himself, he's jealous of Jason being able to do just that. After what happened all those years ago, he didn't want to gain Jason's attention just yet. Not until he can get back into the thick of things without the bullseye on his back. Soon though...real soon.

**A/N: Let us know what you think.**

**All reviews welcome!**

**- ROCkER & Jackal's Vixen -**

**(this is supposed to challenge our writing skills, not writing for Liason in a fic, its hard, but we're doing our best to get it done. Hope it turns out okay.)**


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